A non-creedal missional community in a progressive ecumenical universalist christian way, 5920 N. Owasso Ave, Turley, OK 74126 918-691-3223, 794-4637, 430-1150. Service. Community. Discipleship. Worship. All are Welcome. See below or Write to revronrobinson@aol.com for the latest gatherings. We often worship with others on Sunday. We hope you respond to the call to service to and with others in an Abandoned Place of the American Dream Marketplace Empire.

Monday, December 31, 2012

The Welcome Table Church, a free christian universalist missional
community, celebrates our 10th anniversary on Epiphany Sunday, Jan. 6, come for
worship at 11 am, and/or meal at noon, and/or public reception from 1-3 pm, at
5920 N. Owasso Ave. one block west of Peoria Ave. behind the Tag Agency and near
Cherokee School. Please share this with others and bring friends, or just the
curious...

This Epiphany Sunday Jan. 6 it will be 10 years to the day since our first
gathering of what is now known as The Welcome Table missional community; so many
changes, so much incredible ministry, still beginning but worth celebrating;
especially an invite to all who have ever worked with us or worshipped with us.

In some ways we began in Weston, Mass in 2002 during the annual convocation
of the Christian Churches within the Unitarian Universalist Association when
during worship and on my knees with hands laid on me by ministers and those in
attendance I was commissioned as an evangelist; this coming just two months
after I had been officially ordained by All Souls Church in Tulsa. But church is
not one person, even co-missionally, and so we really began as we, a group of
nine half of whom had not met one another and one whom was supportive but only
came to lend moral support, met Jan. 6, 2003 in our living room at the time in
Owasso, OK and each week after that one place or another or day or another.
First we were Epiphany Church and met in homes then motel banquet rooms in
Owasso and at Panera Bread meeting room, then rented space at German Corner in
Owasso; our first public worship was Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday 2003. We had
25 people on Easter; the Sunday after Easter we had three people. We could have
stopped then, like so many church plants dying of a premature birth and
inadequate leadership and limited resources and in a culture that didn't fit
with us. But we continued to be open to where the Spirit of God would lead us,
would need us, and so it was through many "deaths to what we had been", through
many steep learning curves.

then in September 2004 in a re-start we moved to Turley, OK and the far
northside of Tulsa in the 74126 zipcode and still at first as Epiphany Church
and meeting on Sunday mornings, then on Sunday evenings; then we became The
Living Room, all at 6305 N. Peoria Ave. in what was originally a mom and pop
grocery store where they lived in the back, and now has been boarded up again
for a few years like so many of our spaces here on North Peoria. But so much
good stuff happened with us there, connections made, from there we began our
guerilla gardening and got a grant for wildflowers on highway 75 to mark exits
to our abandoned place, and started serving the students at Cherokee School then
still open, and coordinated litter pickup days and painting over graffiti, etc.
And we began our practice central of offering a common meal every time we
gathered with and for worship;

In January 2007 we made our big missional transformative move at a time
when we were losing our biggest contributor but felt called to serve our
community and its severe needs of abandonment by renting a four times larger
space across the street on North Peoria and opening up a community center with
library computer center clothing room food pantry health clinic and gathering
space, in which we began to worship rather than having separate worship space
and we worshipped during the week and travelled to other churches to worship
with them on Sundays especially the Church of Restoration our closest northside
UU church. The center was called A Third Place Community Center and started
embodying the concept of third spaces where people of great differences could
come together for the common good, especially in an abandoned place of the
Marketplace Empire, with people left behind and left out, in the lowest life
expectancy zipcode in our greater area. We were still known as either The Living
Room Church or sometimes as just Church at A Third Place.

In 2009 we completed the missional move by creating the separate non-profit
A Third Place Community Foundation to connect with others and partner with them
for renewal in our area, and to be the organizational wing of our mission, while
the church became organic, incarnational, smaller so that we could keeping
dreaming and doing bigger things. Which we did the very next year

In summer 2010 we bought the city block of abandoned homes and trash dump
and transformed it into a community garden park and orchard, and called it The
Welcome Table, after the demonstration garden spot across the street we had put
in as partners with the local United Methodist Church on their property loaned
to us. At the end of 2010 we bought the original Methodist church building which
had been the largest abandoned building in our community for several years. In
keeping a simpler and uniform name, we called the community center project also
The Welcome Table as we had named the gardenpark and orchard project. And so
when we moved into it our church/missional community became The Welcome Table,
with the nonprofit organization still operating connected but separate from us
as A Third Place Community Foundation, the umbrella for our several projects. In
the future as we may spin off new projects and relocate them in new places to
fulfill our mission.

But just Two years ago in January, 2011, then, we started our move to and
reoccupying of the old church building originally built in 1925 on a site where
there had been a church since 1909, where we currently remain, now with a much
expanded food pantry and more space to add new programs like our art studio, and
where our community events like the holiday parties grew in leaps and bounds to
what they were in our previous rented space which had grown in leaps and bounds
from what it was in our first rented space on North Peoria Ave.

When we moved to the old church building we worshipped on Sunday morning,
though could also worship at the gardenpark or at our garden we had put in at
the Cherokee School, or wherever our mission might take us. We had a main
gathering that would start at 9:30 am with ingathering and sharing of lives and
news, then move at no designated time into a study and sharing time often
watching a progressive Christian video or discussing selections from books or
bible study, then also at no designated time moving into worship time for
communion and prayers, which might at times be interwoven into our common meal
time which always follows. This has given people options to come into the group
for any or all of the rhythms, including those who join us from other churches
after their worship or who come for the meal time together only and may join us
for worship or study if we are still engaged in it. Our motto was worship is
more party than program. More like what we think it must have felt like when
Jesus gathered people together wherever he was at meal time. Sometimes still we
would go worship with other churches keeping our connection with them across
denominational lines.

Now at the 10 year turning point we are going to be discerning again how to
incarnate our vision of God's movement in our neck of the world, how to respond
to grow deeper in the four paths of church: missional service with and for
others, community covenanting and life together among us, developing and growing
in discipleship or our personal faith formation, and grounding in worship and
prayer. How can we grow leaders who will help us to go deeper along each of
those four paths, and how can we share our ministry more, and how connect those
four paths with a variety of folks depending on where they are in their
spiritual journey? Can we help foster intentional community, new monastic
community, bringing in new and more people into our core group, and still offer
the permeable boundaries of community worship and service and study that welcome
in folks who are either in other communities or are content with their
involvement with us, who might only want to be with us either during the week or
only at a more traditional Sunday worship time? Can we embody multiple
communities connected together in a radical way, and grow leaders for each of
them? Can we in the next 10 years start or inspire whole new missional
communities in other places and ways both in our own area of service and beyond?
Can we connect to and contribute to multi-associationally with national or
worldwide religious groups, such as with the Unitarian Universalist Association
and the Christian Universalist Association and the Christian Community
Development Association and other missional church oriented groups that can help
equip and put us and our neighbors in the service of God's mission?

Celebrating and sharing our past is a way to let it inform us but also to
let the past be the past, and to remember the great risks we have taken during
the past 10 years that have resulted in where we are doing what we are today, so
that we can experiment and be radically risky in the years to come.

Come be a part of this pivotal moment this Sunday, ten years to the day
since we opened our living room to see who might show up to begin dreaming of
what might be. Especially if you have been a part of us in other way during
these ten years, and may have moved on to another church or found another
spiritual home, your presence with us has been monumental and we couldn't have
come to this place without you. Come and let us remember together, and to
celebrate your time and your presence, no matter how brief, with us. We have
been blessed.

Follow us on facebook at revronrobinson or at A Third Place or at The
Welcome Table Center...

Ron Robinson, a church planter turned planter of missions that plant
missions, in the abandoned places of the Empire.

P.S. I hope to write more soon, though i have written in the past about it
too, of that steep learning curve, and all the things I did wrong as a leader
and church planter, both my first go around in 1991 and this time too. Just so
the only inspiring things are not just the things that get lauded, for it is
most often the other things, the missteps, that have had the most impact during
these past ten years.

This is our
covenant as we walk together in lifein the ways of God known and to be
made known: In the light of truth, and the loving and liberating spirit of
Jesus, we gather in freedom, to worship God, and serve others

INVITATIONfrom "Christmas
Beatitudes" by David Rhys Williams

On this blessed day let us worship at
the altar of joy, for to miss the joy of Christmas is to miss its holiest
secret. Let us enter into the spiritual delights which are the natural heritage
of child-like hearts.
Let us withdraw from the cold and barren world of prosaic fact if only for a
season. That we may warm ourselves by the fireside of fancy, and take counsel
of the wisdom of poetry and legend.
Blessed are they who have vision enough to behold a guiding star in the dark
mystery which girdles the earth;
Blessed are they who have imagination enough to detect the music of celestial
voices in the midnight hours of life.
Blessed are they who have faith enough to contemplate a world of peace and
justice in the midst of present wrongs and strife.
Blessed are they who have greatness enough to become at times as a little
child.
Blessed are they who have zest enough to take delight in simple things;
Blessed are they who have wisdom enough to know that the kingdom of heaven is
very close at hand, and that all may enter in who have eyes to see and ears to
hear and hearts to understand.

LIGHTING THE ADVENT
& CHRIST CANDLES
In Advent season each week we have pointed the way to Christmas. Peace, Joy,
Love, and Hope, these are the touchstones in our journey preparing our hearts
for this holy day when we begin again in the spirit of the Child. And so we
come to Christmas once again, as have those before us through the centuries,
the mighty cloud of witnesses who have lighted our way with their lives of
faith, hope and unconditional love. May the lights we burn tonight warm us with memories of their inspiration
and their aspirations.
In miracle and mystery, Jesus was born, light shining in the darkness. In
miracle and mystery, all are born, new lights of life full of hope.

May our lives be the Light of this
Good News.
Peace and joy and hope and love---which never come easy and are easily lost—all
come together in the liberating spirit of God. May God’s light heal our lives and world.

And may this light, on this special
day of birth, remind us that to be in the spirit of Christmas we must be where
peace needs to be born,Where joy needs to be sung,
Where hope needs to be found,And where love needs to be shared.
We light these candles once again in this Season which reminds us how to live
most fully all our days.

We light these candles to proclaim
the coming of the light of God into the world.

With the coming of this light let there be peace. Blessed are the
peacemakers.

With the coming of this light let there be
joy. Blessed are those who mourn and who suffer in this special time, that
their hearts be lifted.

With the coming of this light let there be
love. Such great love helps us to love God and one another, especially our
enemies.

With the coming of this light let
there be hope, that goodness will prevail in our lives and world, that
oppression will end, that what unites us is stronger than what divides us, that
we will find our way in the light of God and fear not.

With the coming of this light let
there be born once again the simple transforming freedom the Christ Child brings
to the world, through which the light of God shines in all, that we may be
God’s people every day, and care for one another and for all of God’s Creation,
with our hearts, minds, souls, and our hands.

We light these candles to proclaim
the coming of the light of God into the world.

PRAYER
O God, who hast brought us again to the glad season when we remember the birth
of Jesus, grant that his spirit may be born anew in us. Open our ears that we
may hear the angel songs, open our lips that we may sing with hearts uplifted,
Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward all. Amen.
(King's Chapel Book of Common Prayer)

FIRST LESSON: Luke 2:1-7

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world
should be registered. 2This
was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3All went to their
own towns to be registered. 4Joseph
also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David
called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5He went to be registered with
Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time
came for her to deliver her child. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands
of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the
inn.

"AWAY IN A MANGER"Away in a manger, no crib for his bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head;
The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep in the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby
awakes
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes
I love thee, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky,
And stay by my cradle, till morning is nigh

SECOND LESSON: Luke 2: 8-12

8In that region there were shepherds living in the
fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.9Then an angel of
the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and
they were terrified.10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid;
for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:11to
you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the
Lord.12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in
bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”

"THE FIRST NOWELL"The first Nowell, the angels did say,
was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell,
Born is the king of Israel.

Third Lesson: Luke 2:
13-20

And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,14“Glory
to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”15When
the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place,
which the Lord has made known to us.”16So they went with haste and
found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.17When they
saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;18and
all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.19But
Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.20The
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and
seen, as it had been told them.

"ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH"

Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o'er the plains
and the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strain
Gloria, In excelsis Deo; Gloria, In Excelsis Deo.
Shepherds why this jubilee? Why these songs of happy cheer?
What great brightness did you see? What glad tidings did you hear?
Gloria, In Excelsis Deo; Gloria, In Excelsis Deo.
Come to Bethlehem and see, Him whose birth the angels sing
Come adore on bended knee, Christ, the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria, In Excelsis Deo. Gloria, In Excelsis Deo.

PRAYER OF PEACE AND
JUSTICE"The Work of Christmas" by Howard Thurman

When the
star in the sky is gone, When the Kings and Princes are home, When the
shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins. To find the
lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To teach
the nations, To bring Christ to all, to make music in the heart.

HOMILY

“For All The People”

PASTORAL PRAYERS

HYMN OF RESPONSE

"IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT
CLEAR"It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old
From angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold
Peace on the earth, good-will to all, From heaven's all gracious King.
The world in solemn stillness lay, to hear the angels sing.

READING:

“The Christmas We Are Waiting For”

Sister Joan Chittister

The waiting time for Christmas is almost over. But so what? After all,
there is nothing special about waiting. It's what we're waiting for that
matters.

One of my favorite Christmas scripture readings takes place when John is
in prison. It is a gospel that confronts us with the need to make a choice
about what we are waiting for.

John is no small figure in scripture. He bellows to peasant and king
alike across the land that the world cannot continue as it has been, that we
have to learn to think differently, to live differently, to see life
differently. And for those actions John paid the price. He is in prison in this
scripture, for confronting King Herod.

John has unmasked the evil of the system, he has called both synagogue
and empire to repent their abandonment of the Torah, their substitution of Roman
law for Jewish law. John, in other words, is a strong and thunderous voice. He
calls in no uncertain terms for repentance. He announces the coming of the
Messiah who would -- like Moses -- free the Hebrew people again.

But in prison, John, weary from trying, disheartened by failure, surely
depressed, maybe even struggling with his own faith, sends a messenger to ask
Jesus what surely must be more than a rhetorical question: Are you the one who
is to come or shall we wait for another?

Are you the one for whom I have spent my life preparing? Are you the one
I gave up everything to announce? Are you the one who shall free Israel -- or
have I wasted my time? Has it all been for nothing? "Are you the
one?" John pleads.

But if John's question is bad, Jesus' answer is even worse. Tell John,
who has lived to banish the empire, that the blind see, the lame walk and the
poor have the gospel preached to them....

Not a single mention of an army to rout the garrisons, no talk of
thunderbolts and falling thrones, no designation of the leader who would
overthrow the emperor. No great religious crusade, even. No new outburst of
religious enthusiasm, no embellishment of the temple, or the sacrifices, or the
processions. No great blinding political or religious action at all. What John
was waiting for, what John expected -- the rise of Judaism to new glory -- did
not come.

The answer was searingly, astoundingly, clear. John had spent his life
doing church, but Jesus did not come to do church; Jesus came to do justice.
The Messiah was not about either destroying or renewing the old order. The
Messiah was about building a new one where, as Isaiah said, the desert would
bloom, the wilderness would rejoice, sorrow and sighing would flee away and the
good news of creation would be for everyone.

On Christmas the question becomes ours to answer.

For what have we waited? For what have we given our lives? For religious
symbolism or for gospel enlightenment? For the restoration of the old order or
for the creation of the new?

Think carefully about the answer because on it may well depend the
authenticity of our own lives and the happiness of many who are even now
crippled by unjust systems, blinded by their untruths and fooled into believing
that, for them, God wants it that way.

Merry Christmas to you all. And may, where you are, the desert be brought
to bloom.

HYMN FOR CHRISTMAS EVE COMMUNION

"O LITTLE TOWN OF
BETHLEHEM"O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven
No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.

COMMUNION
We lift up our hearts in God for the gifts of Life given for all.Thanks be to God.

As Christmas reminds us of how the
Divine came into the world in one so small, young, and fragile, so the Gifts of
Life Abundant are in the ordinary made extraordinary, in the bread of the earth
and the juice of the grape becoming food of the Spirit, incarnations of the
Sacred.Thanks be to God.
As Christmas calls us to be mindful of all those in need, all without a room,
all with grief and fear, and to work for a world more just, so may this token
of our daily bread, and this token of our cup of forgiveness which quenches the
thirst of the soul, call us to go feed others.Thanks be to God.
As Christmas offers us peace and light in times of darkness, may the sacred
offering of this small meal, one to another, inspire us to acts of
lovingkindness, all in the Spirit of the One born upon this night who showed us
faithfulness without fear, preparing a welcome table for all.Thanks be to God.

And so we join together in saying the
prayer Jesus taught to those who would follow in his radically inclusive
hospitable and justice-seeking way of the Spirit.

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever, and
ever. Amen.

BREAD OF NEW LIFE, CUP OF NEW HOPE

From the beginning of the community gathered around Jesus, it is a
community at its truest when it is a community that goes to the manger instead
of gathering people into the inn; it is a church that is where those are who
have been left out; we become our community when we go to the mangers, and we
can trust that the star of Christmas will shine over us there, a greater light
than all inside the inn, that we will have a community that reflects the
diversity of God's world just like the diversity that gathered around the
manger. Our communion is where we re-enact the manger, week after week,
Christmas after Christmas, letting Christ be born anew within us so we can be
born anew for the world and help it be born anew.

All are
worthy and all are welcome in this free and open communion. We follow the
practice of intinction, or dipping of the bread into the cup before eating.

May we
remember that in our times of hunger and brokenness, of sadness even in holiday
season, that God provides wholeness and abundant gifts of Creation all around
us, among us, and within us all, more than enough to share with others. There
is always enough of what all need if we all share and take no more than we
need. That is the way it is in God’s inn called the manger, God’s welcome
table, open to all regardless of who they are, what they believed, especially
for those who are suffering, and oppressed. Come let us celebrate at the table
the birth of the one who would make table gatherings in the midst of strangers
and enemies, in the abandoned places of the Empire, reminding all there of
God‘s healing presence.

The gifts of
bread and juice, of plate and cup passed one to the other, are Christmas gifts
from God that remind us of the gift given to the world on that first Christmas
morning, and remind us of the gifts we ourselves are as we too, as all are, children
of God.

Go now in
peace, and may the peace of God go with you all the days of your life. Go now
in joy, finding the deepest spirit in the simplest of things. Go now in love,
dedicated to making it visible as justice for all. Go now in hope, the spirit
of the Christ Child bringing light into your life and world.

Following the radical Jesus in deeds not creeds. Join us in service to our
community throughout the week. Our Welcome Table of Worship is open to all who
welcome all, regardless of belief or denomination, race, gender, sexual
orientation, age, physical abilities, economic status, or political
affiliations. We don’t think Jesus would have it any other way.

Free because we are non-creedal. We don’t give theological tests for admission
but encourage you to test us and try us to see if this way is for you.
Universalist because we believe God is Love and All who abide in Love abide in
God for all time (1 John 4:16). Christian because the generous compassionate
way and story of Jesus, while not exclusively so, is our primary pathway
opening up to God. Missional because we are sent to serve others more than
ourselves. Community because we are made not to be autonomous individuals but
to be a people of God.

InvocationToday
is the day which God has made: Let us rejoice and be glad therein.
What does the Eternal require of us? To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly
with God.

Chalice Lighting CovenantThis is our covenant as we walk together in life as a people of God
striving to make Jesus visible in the world: In the light of truth, and the
loving and liberating spirit of Jesus, we gather in freedom, to worship God,
and serve all.

Response For The Hour

O Lord, let
my soul rise up to meet you As the day rises to meet the sun.

Fourth Sunday of Advent: The Candle
of Hope

Scripture:

Luke
1:39-56

39In those days Mary set out and went
with haste to a Judean town in the hill country,40where she entered
the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.41When Elizabeth heard
Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with
the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.43And why has this happened to
me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?44For as soon as I heard
the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.45And
blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was
spoken to her by the Lord.”46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the
Lord,47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,48for he
has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all
generations will call me blessed;49for the Mighty One has done great
things for me, and holy is his name.50His mercy is for those who
fear him from generation to generation.51He has shown strength with
his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.52He
has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;53he
has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.54He
has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,55according
to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants
forever.”56And Mary remained with her about three months and then
returned to her home.

Lighting The Advent Candles For
Peace, Joy, Love, and Hope

One: The Gospel of John speaks of Christ as the light coming into the world.
In commemoration of that coming, we light candles for the four weeks leading to
Christmas and reflect on the coming of Christ. Christ is coming. Christ is
always coming, always entering a troubled world, a wounded heart. And so we
light candles of peace, joy, love, and hope as the markers along our way in
this season of Advent leading toward the manger in Bethlehem and the renewal of
our spirit in the coming of Christmas.
All: Loving God, as we move through the days and weeks of this Advent season,
We open all the dark places in our lives and memories to God’s healing light.
Show us your creative power. Prepare our hearts to be transformed by you, That
we may walk in the light of Christ always coming into the world.

One: The light of peace, may it guide us through our hurts, away from
violence, grounded in justice and compassion, knowing that the deepest peace
comes not from goods for the self but from The Common Good. All: Blessed are
the peacemakers. Halleluia. One: The light of joy, may it surprise us with
the spirit of wonder and new creation, and may we find it in the simple things
of the Spirit all around us. All: We Rejoice in the Spirit of the Lord, that
brings sight to the blind and healing to the wounded, freedom to the captives,
liberation to the oppressed, justice to the poor, Halleluia. One: The light
of love, may it open our hearts and hands to the plights of others, reminding
us of the love of God for us unconditionally, renewing our lives, bringing all
together in the oneness of God. All: God is Love and all who abide in Love
abide in God. Halleluia. One: The light of hope, that even when we do not
feel the spirit of the season, even when God seems far removed from this world
and peace and justice and joy and love seem empty words, when fear is all
around and our own actions and thoughts have closed the door to the inn
shutting ourselves off from others and they from us, may this light of hope
still shine, and with every flicker grow stronger with the faith that God is
still present, still speaking, still giving birth to that which may save us
all. All: In peace, in joy, in love, and in hope, we pause and ponder and
pass on to others the ways of God. Halleluia.

Morning
Songs of Hope and Advent: #95, There Is More Love Somewhere; #346, Come Sing A Song
With Me; #244 It Came Upon The Midnight Clear

Prayer of Confession:

Gracious and Loving God, we acknowledge to you, to one another, and to
ourselves that we are not what you have called us to be. We have stifled our
gifts and wasted our time. We have avoided opportunities to offer kindness,
but have been quick to take offense. We have pretended that we could make no
contribution to peace and justice in our world and have excused ourselves from
risk-taking in our own community. Have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and
help us to live our lives renewed in your Spirit. We long for peace within
and without, for harmony in our families, for the well-being of our neighbors,
and help us to love our enemies. Yet we have too often not made the hard
choices that love requires. Show us how to walk in your path of faithfulness,
hope, and love. Amen.

Please share prayers and blessings,
joys and sorrows

Now we join in saying the prayer Jesus taught for all those who would
follow in his way of radical compassion, courage, conscience, and commitment.Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead
us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and
the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Communion

Prayer: O God, in
the loving and liberating spirit of Jesus, we gather at this welcoming table
open to all, remembering how Jesus gathered people from all the walks of life,
stranger and friend and enemies, gave thanks to you, offered all the bread of
life and the cup of blessing and proclaimed a covenant of love for all in your
name. We remember too the wonder of his life, as we remember the wonder of all
of Creation given unto us and how all are One. We remember the agony of his
death, and all the terrors and the tyrannies that oppress people today. And we
remember the power of resurrection, the mystery of faith in the everlasting
Spirit, the triumph over fear. Help us to remember to practice resurrection
everyday, as we remember all those who have given Love the ultimate trust and
the last word and who have worked to create the beloved community of renewed
and abundant life. Help us to remember with this meal especially all those who are
hungry, and may we treat all our meals as sacred and to be shared. Take us,
bless us, so that even in and with our brokenness we may serve others. Amen.Jesus said I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me
drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I
was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. And they said,
Lord, when did we do this? And he said, You did this for me when you did it
for the least of these. Here is the bread of life, food for the spirit. Let
all who hunger come and eat. Here is the fruit of the vine pressed and
poured out for us. Let all who thirst now come and drink. We come to
make peace. We come to be restored in the love of God. We come to be
made new as an instrument of that love. All are worthy. All are welcome.

Let us Break Bread Together on our knees, let us break bread together on our
knees when I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun o Lord have mercy
on me Let us drink wine together on our knees let us drink wine together on our
knees when I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun o Lord have mercy
on me let us praise God together on our knees let us praise God together on our
knees when I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun O Lord have mercy
on me.

Prayers for Advent: by Kay Northcutt

Passing the Plate and Cup of
Communion
1.We’re gonna sit at the welcome table, we’re gonna sit at the welcome table
one of these days halleluia We’re gonna sit at the welcome table, gonna sit at
the welcome table one of these days 2.All kinds of people round that table, all
kinds of people round that table one of these days halleluia, all kinds of
people around that table, gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days 3.No
fancy style at the welcome table, no fancy style at the welcome table one of
these days halleluia, no fancy style at the welcome table, gonna sit at the
welcome table one of these days.

Benediction
Let us go out into the highways and byways. Let us give the people something of
our new vision. We may possess a small light, but may we uncover it, and let it
shine. May we use it to bring more light and understanding to the hearts and
minds of men and women. May we give them not hell but hope and courage. May we
preach and practice the kindness and everlasting love of God. Amen

“Go Now
in Peace, Go Now in Peace, May the Love of God surround you, everywhere,
everywhere, you may go.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

The Welcome TableA Free Universalist Christian Missional CommunityFollowing the radical Jesus in deeds not creeds. We are a church primarily
as we are in service to our community throughout the week. Our Welcome Table of
Worship gatherings are another way we become church. All of our activities and
worship are open to all who welcome all, regardless of belief or denomination,
race, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical abilities, economic status, or
political affiliations. We don’t think Jesus would have it any other way.

Free because we are non-creedal. We don’t give theological tests for
admission, but encourage you to test us and try us to see if this way is for
you. Universalist because we believe God is Love and All who abide in Love
abide in God for all time (1 John 4:16). Christian because the generous
compassionate way and story of Jesus, while not exclusively so, is our primary
pathway opening up to God. Missional because we are sent to serve others more
than ourselves. Community because we are made not to be autonomous individuals
but to be a people of God.

InvocationToday is the day which God has made:
Let us rejoice and be glad therein. What does the Eternal require of us?
To live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

Chalice Lighting CovenantThis is our covenant as we walk
together in life as a people of God striving to make Jesus visible in the world:
In the light of truth, and the loving and liberating spirit of Jesus, we gather
in freedom, to worship God, and serve all.

Response For The HourO Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you
As the day rises to meet the sun.

Third Sunday of Advent: Love CandleScripture:Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who
loves is born of God and knows God.8Whoever does not love does not
know God, for God is love…No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God
lives in us, and his love is perfected in us…God is love, and those who abide
in love abide in God, and God abides in them…Those who say, ‘I love God’, and
hate their brothers or sisters,* are liars; for those who do not love
a brother or sister* whom they have seen, cannot love God
whom they have not seen.21The commandment we have from him is this:
those who love God must love their brothers and sisters*
also.

Lighting The Advent Candle For LoveOne: We have lighted two candles---for
peace, and for joy. Today we light the third candle—the candle of love. With
this flame we signify the love of God that surrounds and fills us at all times,
but that we recognize in a special way in the Christmas story. There is no
greater power than love. It is stronger than rulers and empires, stronger than
grief or despair, stronger even than death. All in God’s love for all.
All: Loving God, we open ourselves to you this Christmas season. As these
candles are lit, light up our lives with your imagination. Teach us the peace
that comes from justice. Fill us with the kind of joy that cannot be contained,
but must be shared. Magnify your love within us. Prepare our hearts to be
transformed by you, That we may walk in the light of Christ. Amen.Advent Songs: #95, There Is More Love; #131 Love Will Guide Us; #225 O Come
O Come

Sharing Prayers followed by Lord’s PrayerNow we join in saying the prayer
Jesus taught for all those who would follow in his way of radical compassion,
courage, conscience, and commitment.Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead
us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and
the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

CommunionPrayer: O God, in the loving and
liberating spirit of Jesus, we gather at this welcoming table open to all,
remembering how Jesus gathered people from all the walks of life, stranger and
friend and enemies, gave thanks to you, offered all the bread of life and the
cup of blessing and proclaimed a covenant of love for all in your name. We
remember too the wonder of his life, as we remember the wonder of all of
Creation given unto us and how all are One. We remember the agony of his death,
and all the terrors and the tyrannies that oppress people today. And we
remember the power of resurrection, the mystery of faith in the everlasting
Spirit, the triumph over fear. Help us to remember to practice resurrection
everyday, as we remember all those who have given Love the ultimate trust and
the last word and who have worked to create the beloved community of renewed
and abundant life. Help us to remember with this meal especially all those who
are hungry, and may we treat all our meals as sacred and to be shared. Take us,
bless us, so that even in and with our brokenness we may serve others. Amen.Jesus said I was hungry and you gave me
food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed
me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in
prison and you came to me. And they said, Lord, when did we do this? And he
said, You did this for me when you did it for the least of these. Here is
the bread of life, food for the spirit. Let all who hunger come and eat. Here
is the fruit of the vine pressed and poured out for us. Let all who thirst now
come and drink. We come to make peace. We come to be restored in the love of
God. We come to be made new as an instrument of that love. #406, Let us Break Bread Together on our kneesPassing the Plate and Cup of Communion

BenedictionLet us go out into the highways and byways. Let us give the people something
of our new vision. We may possess a small light, but may we uncover it, and let
it shine. May we use it to bring more light and understanding to the hearts and
minds of men and women. May we give them not hell but hope and courage. May we
preach and practice the kindness and everlasting love of God. Amen

“Go Now in Peace, Go Now in Peace,

May the Love of God surround you,
everywhere, everywhere, you may go.”

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Here is the worship service for Advent Second Sunday we used on Dec. 9. This coming Sunday Dec. 16 we will light the third candle, for Love, and have our special liturgy shaped around the waiting, the preparation, for the coming of Love into our hearts, our lives, our pocketbooks, our faith. It was appropriate that we held our Annual Christmas Party for the neighborhood on this past Sunday, since it was a Sunday to lift up Joy. Here are images from the party to accompany the liturgy...

The Welcome TableA Free
Universalist Christian Missional CommunityFollowing the radical
Jesus in deeds not creeds. Join us in service to our community throughout the
week. Our Welcome Table is open to all who welcome all, regardless of belief or
denomination, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical abilities,
economic status, or political affiliations. We don’t think Jesus would have it
any other way.

Free because we don’t require creedal adherence, even though we may find much
truth and wisdom in the ancient creeds and statements of the church. We don’t
give theological tests for admission, but encourage you to test us to see if
this way is for you. Universalist because we believe God is Love and All who
abide in Love abide in God for all time (1 John 4:16). Christian because the
generous compassionate way and story of Jesus, while not exclusively so, is our
primary pathway opening up to God. Missional because we are sent to serve
others more than ourselves. Community because we are made not to be autonomous
individuals but to be a people of God.

InvocationToday is the day which God has made: Let us rejoice and be glad
therein. What does the Eternal require of us? To live justly, love mercy, and walk
humbly with our God.

Chalice Lighting and Covenant AffirmationThis is our covenant as we walk together in life as a people of God
striving to make Jesus visible in the world: In the light of truth, and the
loving and liberating spirit of Jesus, we gather in freedom, to worship God,
and serve all.

O Lord, let
my soul rise up to meet you As the day rises to meet the sun.

Advent: Welcome To A New Kind of Time
Zone
Celebrating Joy and Peace

Lighting The Advent Candle For Peace

One: The Gospel of John speaks of Christ as the true light coming into
the world. In
commemoration of that coming, we light candles for the four weeks leading to
Christmas and reflect on the coming of Christ, the coming of the God’s Anointing
of all. It is significant that the church has always used that language—the
coming of Christ—because it speaks to a deep truth. Christ is coming. Christ is
always coming, always entering a troubled world, a wounded heart. And so we
light the first candle, the candle of peace, and dare to
express our longing for peace, for healing, and the well-being of all creation.
All: Loving God, as we enter this Advent season, We open all the dark places in
our lives and memories to the healing light. Show us your creative power.
Prepare our hearts to be transformed by You, that we may walk in the light of the
way of Jesus.

One: We light this candle knowing full well that peace is elusive, and in
some parts of the world, it is almost completely absent. Yet in this season of
Advent, we trust that God is never absent from us, especially even in our times
of struggle. God is always preparing something new.
All: And even where there is war and discord, whether between countries, within
families, or within our own hearts. God is present, gently leading us to new
possibilities.---Jeanyne Slettom, alt.
From Morning Songs of Peace: Dona Nobis Pacem, I’ve Got Peace Like A River,
Gonna Lay Down My Sword and Shield

O Come, you Splendor very bright, as joy that never yields to might
O Come, and turn all hearts to peace, that greed and war at last shall cease.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel, Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Prayer of Peace by St. Francis
O God help us to be instruments of Thy peace. Where hate rules let us bring
love;
where injury, pardon; where discord, union; where doubt, faith; where despair,
hope;
where darkness, light; where sorrow, joy. Let us strive more to comfort others
than to be comforted; to understand others--than to be understood; to love
others--than to be loved. For it is in giving, that we receive, and in
pardoning, that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are raised to eternal
life.

Lighting The Advent Candle For JoyOne: Joy is all around us—in the children, the lights, the music, the
gathering together. But how often do we let our preparations—or our
memories—push joy to the side?

All: Joy is like an underground
spring that wells up within us, but joy is also a choice, an attitude. Like a
muscle, it needs to be exercised. So today we open ourselves to joy, trusting
that God has already planted it in us. All we need to do is give it care and
offer it to share.

One: Loving
God, we open ourselves to you, trusting that this is how you made us: you
created us for joy-filled hearts and lives. Show us the creative power of hope.
Teach us the peace that comes from justice. Fill us with the kind of joy that
cannot be contained, but must be shared. Prepare our hearts to be transformed
by you, that we may walk in the light of the way of Jesus.

All: We will Rejoice for God has
created us with the capacity for joy. We will find what makes us joyful, and
make that our gift to the world. We will trust in God's good will for all of
creation and open ourselves to God's gentle, transforming love. We will welcome
new possibilities in our lives. We will offer ourselves to God's goodness. We
will go forth in peace, and joy.

From Morning Songs: #30, Over My
Head; #29, Joyful, Joyful; #95, There Is More Love

Hymn For Advent: Angels We Have Heard on High

Scripture:

True Peace and Joy Comes Through
Justice

And Mary
said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,47and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior,48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his
servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;49for
the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.50His
mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.51He
has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of
their hearts.52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;53he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.54He has helped his servant Israel, in
remembrance of his mercy,55according to the promise he made to our
ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” From Luke 1

Prayer of Confession: Gracious
and Loving God, we acknowledge to you, to one another, and to ourselves that we
are not what you have called us to be. We have stifled our gifts and wasted our
time. We have avoided opportunities to offer kindness, but have been quick to
take offense. We have pretended that we could make no contribution to peace and
justice in our world and have excused ourselves from risk-taking in our own
community. Have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and help us to live our lives
differently. We long for peace within and without, for harmony in our families,
for the well-being of our neighbors, and the love for our enemies. Yet we have
too often not made the hard choices that love requires. Show us how to walk in
your path of faithfulness, hope, and love. Amen.
Words of Assurance: One fact remains that does not change: God loves all, for
all time. This is the good news that brings new life. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Please share prayers and blessings, joys and sorrows

Now we join in saying the prayer Jesus taught for all those who would
follow in his way of radical compassion, courage, conscience, and commitment.
Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will
be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us
not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

CommunionPrayer: O God, in the loving and liberating spirit of Jesus, we gather at
this welcoming table open to all, remembering how Jesus gathered people from
all the walks of life, stranger and friend and enemies, gave thanks to you,
offered all the bread of life and the cup of blessing and proclaimed a covenant
of love for all in your name. We remember too the wonder of his life, as we
remember the wonder of all of Creation given unto us and how all are One. We
remember the agony of his death, and all the terrors and the tyrannies that
oppress people today. And we remember the power of resurrection, the mystery of
faith in the everlasting Spirit, the triumph over fear. Help us to remember to
practice resurrection everyday, as we remember all those who have given Love
the ultimate trust and the last word and who have worked to create the beloved
community of renewed and abundant life. Help us to remember with this meal
especially all those who are hungry, and may we treat all our meals as sacred
and to be shared. Take us, bless us, so that even in and with our brokenness we
may serve others. Amen.Jesus said I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me
drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I
was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. And they
said, Lord, when did we do this? And he said, You did this for me when you did
it for the least of these. Here is the bread of life, food for the spirit.
Let all who hunger come and eat. Here is the fruit of the vine pressed and
poured out for us. Let all who thirst now come and drink. We come to make
peace. We come to be restored in the love of God. We come to be made new as an
instrument of that love. All are worthy. All are welcome. ---Food For the
Spirit, Rob Eller-Isaacs

Let us Break Bread Together

Passing the Bread of Life and the Cup
of Hope

BenedictionLet us go out into the highways and byways. Let us give the people
something of our new vision. We may possess a small light, but may we
uncover it, and let it shine. May we use it to bring more light and
understanding to the hearts and minds of men and women. May we give them not
hell but hope and courage. May we preach and practice the kindness and
everlasting love of God. Amen ---John Murray

Hymn #413”
“Go Now in Peace, Go Now in Peace, May the Love of God surround you,
everywhere, everywhere, you may go.”